Unexpected Vogelmonster Awesomeness

I haven't sent any trade packages or *gasp* return trade packages in a couple months, but that doesn't seem to stop them from coming in. No worries though, I'm keeping a list and when I get a little time I'll go shopping for the eleven bloggers whom I owe cards. 

Here's what I found in my mailbox today. 

Good gracious. Do I ever love this card!

This one came from my current favorite Frankenset builder. 

If you haven't been over to Padrographs lately, then I suggest you drop in to vote and help Rod determine which Padre card makes the cut. 

Thanks for Vogey autograph, Rod!  You've been added to my list!

Do You Put Off Today What You Could Open Tomorrow?

Have you ever put off opening a package because you know what's inside and you want to wait for the right moment?

I thought about saving this one until I needed something to cheer me up after a bad day at work. 

Then I decided it might be better served as a celebratory package, if, in fact, I win one of my two fantasy baseball leagues. 

Five minutes ago all of that was thrown out the window, "Heck with it. I can't wait any longer!"

Uber-generous Julie, from A Cracked Bat, reached out to me a couple of weeks ago after she pulled a card I blogged about NEEDING to add to my collection. After picking her pockets she sent everything in a padded yellow mailer. 

Enough delaying things... let's get into it!

Here's the first card I picked from Julie's pockets. It's the cracked ice version of Alexander Cartwright's card from Panini's 2012 Cooperstown set. I once placed a baseball on Cartwright's grave in Hawaii back in 2011. On it I wrote to Cartwright, the "inventor of baseball," and asked him to talk to the Baseball Gods about granting the Cubs a World Series championship. 

I'm not saying my gesture had anything to do with what happened in 2016, but I'm not saying it didn't either!

Super Szczur! This former Peoria Chief and all around good dude will always be one of my favorites. 

I don't remember claiming this one from Julie's stash, but I won't argue either. It's a framed 2020 Diamond King of El Mago! 

Potential NL Cy Young Award winner? He's been pretty good this year! Go Yu, go!

For the record, that's a 2018 Topps Fire card on the left and a Triple Threads card from the same year on the right. 

Here's where it starts to get crazy good.

That's a rookie card of the Vogelmonster from 2017 Fire. 

Then, wow. Just WOW. 

It's the red foil parallel of everyone's favorite super slugger from 2020 Stadium Club. 

Can it get much better than that?

In a word? Yes.

Behold!

There is so much goodness on this autographed card I don't even know where to begin. Everything from the bat grip, to the eye black, to the bat weight, to the camera angle, to the stadium seating in the background is just so perfect. 

That's a great looking card right there. I couldn't be happier!

Thanks for cards, Julie! I'll be sure to send something your way when I can find something close to that Vogey auto that fits in your collect, but that's going to be a tough task!

Are We Waiting 'til Next Year?

My mailbox loves PWEs and so do I. This one comes from Marc over at Remember the Astrodome. The cardboard protector within contained a note which got me thinking. Marc suggests "we're all probably waiting until next year (for baseball) at this point."

As much as I personally enjoy applying word play to specific blog names within the titles of a post and/or a well thought out note, I think this motion has the potential to be more accurate than many want to admit.

 Even so, I've read up on proposals from MLB and I believe things are trending in the right direction. Here's the biggest proposals in chronological order:

• Every team being stationed in Arizona
• Teams in Arizona and Florida
• Teams in Arizona, Florida and Texas
• Teams playing in their home ballparks, but split into three geographically based divisions

You'll notice a trend here in that MLB continues to open things up. It want from one state, to two, to three, and the latest has teams playing in their home ballparks. Surely that's a positive sign. Right?

 When/if baseball returns I'm not sure what it will look like, but I doubt it will be what we're accustomed to. Perhaps, it will look like the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization)? Cheerleaders in the stands, but no fans? Nah, MLB teams would never employ cheerleaders. As a safeguard I've read the league may employ a "monastery" set-up. That sounds less than ideal for the players. I'm sure the MPBPA will have something to say about the working conditions.

 There was a tad of optimism doled out a few days ago when MLB reached an agreement on how to pay the umpires this year. That's at least one less hurdle to leap when the green light is given.

Personally, I'm still holding out hope that we have baseball in some form or another this year, but it leaves me with so many questions.

In short, Marc's note has me looking like Jason Heyward here. His eyes seem to be looking up as if to say, "I got all of that one!"  But his gaze also seems to be angled in a position where his next thought is questioning, "Foul or Fair?"

So, yeah, I'm excited about the prospects of their being a season, but it still seems very much up in the air to me at this point. 

Marc, thanks for the Cubs cards and for giving me something to ruminate over!

Checklist Confusion

My baseball coaching season is taking off and I still have cardboard finding its way to my mailbox. I have a couple of other trade packages to post about and handful of stacks which need to be packaged up and shipped out. Oh, such is the life of a collector!

I have time for a quick post before Bradley, my favorite college basketball program, takes the court in defense of their Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship. Go BU!

Zippy Zappy's PWE gets the nod here, because it's only one card and tip-off is fifteen minutes out and I still have to travel to my sister's to catch the game.

 This is my first look at Bowman Sterling.  The design is okay.

How does Topps pick their checklists? I understand he was the 5th ranked prospect in the Cubs organization, but he had a sub 0.600 OPS in A-Ball. That is not a Sterling Statistic!

Thanks for the PWE, ZZ!  Your package should go out this week. 😀

4 Cards, from 3 Bloggers, in 2 Packages

High School baseball. Wow. I'm tuckered out.
Yesterday we took a bus 75 minutes west of our high school to play another team for a 4:30 start. The wind was blowing out and the infield was a little choppy which was cause for some shaky defense and prolonged innings. Two-and-a-half hours later we came away 24 to 8 winners in 7 innings. Yikes. We hopped back on the bus, made a quick stop for dinner and were back home just after 9pm. If you'd like to follow us on Twitter here's the link. I'm in charge of the Twitter account and try to keep it updated as much as possible.

With all of that being said, I haven't sent out a trade package in a month or so. I'm time poor right now, but that will change in about five weeks and then I'll attack the list of generous souls who have sent me cards this spring.

One such blogger is Greg, from The Collective Mind.

Greg and I enjoy picking cards off of each other's set building lists and sending them to each other.

I posted my 2002 Upper Deck Piece of History want list a couple weeks back and Greg knocked off half of my non-SP needs.

He also sent me a card for my HOF binder. I have two different vintage Richie Ashburn cards at the moment, one of him with the Cubs and one with the Mets. I'm seeking out a vintage card of him in a Phillies uniform, but this one will be a handy substitute until that day arrives.

Thanks for the cards, Greg!

 Steve, the author of Tridents and Trading Cards, picked up a printing plate with me in mind.

Steve tried to message me on Twitter, but sometimes I miss things I guess. Bob Walk The Plank (AKA Matthew) stepped in and the next thing I know this beauty is in my possession. One of the perks of being known as the "Vogelbach guy" AND belonging to such a great baseball card collecting community!

 My goodness. So much awesomeness on one card!

 I now have NINETEEN 1/1 cards of The Vogelmonster!  Thanks for Steve and Matthew! 

Do Bloggers Have a Sixth Sense?

About six days ago I added a list of cards from 1988 Topps to my want Set Needs page. I already have a hand-collated set of '88 Topps in my collection, but last year I inherited a collection which included a partial set. The 800-count box sat and collected dust in my card closet until recently when I finally took the time to figure out what was missing. Without any fanfare I published the aforementioned want list.

Cards from Bru

 Queue the blogosphere. With being it one of my two busy times of the year, I haven't been wheeling & dealing and I wasn't expecting any packages. Yet, two packages arrived yesterday from familiar zip codes . . . less than a week after I posted the '88 Topps want list.

The blogosphere is a mysterious and wonderful place . . . it's a place where collectors send random PWEs because they hit a card from another collector's player collection. It's a place where some truly talented writers tell stories about card collecting, which sends the reader through a time warp back to their childhood. It's a place where you can reveal something about your personal life and the comment section will flood with words of kindness, encouragement, condolences and congratulations. In short, it's a community for those who truly call themselves sports card collectors.

I feel I need to touch on the "mysterious" qualifier a tad more. You see, it's as though bloggers have a sixth sense. And what exactly would this sixth sense involve? Well, that's easy! It detects when there's a way one can rid themselves of junk wax from their collection!

Most collectors have at least a nominal amount of junk wax in their collection which they have no clue what to do with. It doesn't fit into one of your defined collecting niches, but you'd feel guilty about dumping it on someone, and you can't bring yourself to toss it out. So there it sits. In your collection. Taking up space.

Cards from Night Owl

 I have 3200-count box dedicated to junk wax. There are some Hall of Famers in there and certainly plenty of All-Stars, but all the Cubs have been sent to the One Million Cubs, the Tim Wallach's to the Tim Wallach guy and . . . well, you get the idea. I've toyed with the idea of donating my box to Good Will or sending it to Commons4Kids, but I'm sitting on my hands hoping there's a better answer.

In the meantime I guess I'll just keep building random junk wax sets like 1988 Topps. Thank you to Bru and Night Owl for demonstrating their respective sixth senses are in working order. The junk wax and other cards in this post were from their two packages. Cubs cards and other set help are always appreciated, too!

If your sixth sense is out of practice, yet you feel the desire to help finish my '88 set, then please feel free to check out my want list. Please, don't just send cards though, because the last thing I need is eleven copies of an '88 Topps Kirk McCaskill card. Send me a quick email or make a comment about what you have for me so that I may update my want list in a timely fashion. Like Bru and Night Owl you will be added to my list and I'll send you "thank you" cards once the school year slows down.

As always, thanks for reading!  (And, for sending me your 1988 Topps junk wax!)

A Xmas Surprise

I really enjoy shopping for others when I hit a card shop or show. There are a few though who I have learned I can't find cards for this way. I can try, but I'll usually strike out. Thank goodness for the internet!

Greg, the author of The Collective Mind, is one such blogger. His want lists span multiple decades and are seemingly all encompassing, but I'm never lucky enough to find a dealer who caters to the set builder. Greg is THE ultimate set builder. He sent me a little surprise present the other day and I decided to be patient and hold off on showing the contents until now. 'Tis the Season and all that jazz. 

 Greg, for what it's worth, has a sick signature. Legible, but it also has flare!

For what it's worth, what I appreciate the most about this package were the words "Thanks" and "blogging in general." I go through a range of emotions and I often want to jettison the blog. Somethings really get me down from time-to-time, like counterfeit cards or forgeries on the market. Somethings just make me angry, like Topps giving Drew Smyly more Cubs cards than it gave Vogelbach this year. (Topps... Hello! Drew Smyly has never played for the Cubs and will not in the foreseeable future!) I've cut way back on the blogging the last couple of years and part of it is because my collecting styles have changed. To know someone out there appreciates my efforts is very nice.

Anyways, words. Words mean a lot. And, they mean a whole lot more when they come from a friend of cardboard.

I digress.

Greg also sent cards. Two to be exact. But I refuse to show the one. I'm sorry.

The first card is from the 2016 Topps Strata set and it's a thick relic card of a white Cubs home jersey with TWO pinstripes on it. It's a gorgeous looking swatch of jersey. It really is. It even has one of the those little MLB hologram authentication stickers on it, which links you to this game.  The Cubs won 1-0 in 11 innings and the player in question batted 8th, played SS, and went 0-for-3 in the game.

I actually wrote this post about a week ago, because I'm on winter vacation . . . gasp . . . without internet! Point being, I hope the Cubs have cut ties with the aforementioned player by now. I appreciate the card, but cards of this player will not be shown on this blog again.

Here's the other card. #JawDropping

I have a handful of Museum Collection base cards in my collection, but I'm fairly certain this is my first relic and it's GORGEOUS!

I miss Starlin. He drew the ire of Cubs fans from time-to-time, too, but it was always baseball related. Plus, he kept things interesting when the Cubs were finishing in 5th place five years in a row.  Yes.  That happened.

Greg. It is a stellar patch. I know exactly what it's from and I can't say that I've ever seen another one like it. So much cooler than a swatch of jersey.

Well, that was a most excellent and unexpected surprise!  Thank you, Greg!  I can't wait to cause some damage to that want list of yours!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The Hit List

I've seen enough gangster type movies and shows to understand that being on a Hit List isn't exactly a good thing. Then I came across a blog post from The Chronicles of Fuji which made me rethink the punitive label I had given the term.

In the aforementioned blog post Fuji talks about the generosity and camaraderie of the blogosphere and how he sometimes struggles to keep up with timely return packages. (Seriously, don't we all?) He created a list of collectors he needed to hit back with cards. Now, that's a Hit List I don't mind being a part of!

Personally, I always have a "sticky note" open on my computer desktop with a list of names I owe cards. Currently, I have four names on that list, which is really good for me right now. Yet, I remember a time earlier this year when the owed number of packages was in the teens. Ouch, it happens. I haven't been hunted down by an angry mob wielding torches and pitchforks . . . yet. LOL

Seems like everyone I swap cards with is super generous and patient. Fuji, is right at the top of that list.

I'm actually in a list making mood, so let's run with it.  Here's the Top 10 best cards Fuji sent me from his package to knock me off his Hit List.

#10

The Vogelmonster comes in at #10?  I know, I know... I am a bit depressed right now about Vogelbach's prospects with the Mariners. He finished the minor league season on Tacoma's Disabled List. I can't find any information on his injury and even with the expanded rosters I am not terribly hopeful that Seattle will call him up at any point this month. I also read Seattle and Nelson Cruz, who is a free agent after the season, share mutual interest in signing a contract for 2019 and possibly beyond. Sigh.

#9

Cub prospect autos! Brett Jackson was once the top rated prospect in their system, but he hit 0.175 in his Cub career and is now out of baseball.
Barret Loux might be the only minor league pitcher the Cubs have acquire from the Rangers in the last decade that did not work out. He is out of baseball as well, but Carl Edwards, Justin Grimm, and Kyle Hendricks are not.
Hayden Simpson was the Cubs' #1 pick in the 2010 draft. His last year in affiliated minor league ball was 2012. Ouch.
Jake Stinnett, a second round pick in 2014, is still active and has some promise as a bullpen piece, but he turns twenty-seven next season and is running out of time.

#8

 This is the 1990 Topps Glossy All-Star card only made available through a TV promotional offer. I never thought I would see one of these in my collection. Very nice! Oh, and who doesn't love the Wild Thing?

#7

 2018 Topps, 35th Anniversary, purple prism thingy parallel found in silver packas of Anthony Rizzo numbered to /75. The 1983 design is special, but I'm not sure about all the bells and whistles here. If it were blue it would be higher on the list. Purple? Comes in at #7.

#6

 I remember Chadd Krist from the 2012 Peoria Chiefs team. He played with Javy Baez and started hot right out of the gate. I thought the Cubs found a special talent in the 12th round, but then he came back down to earth a few weeks later and was out of baseball by 2016. This card is the silver parallel and is numbered 6/25. I always have a soft spot in my collection for former Chiefs!

#5

 Okay, I'm cheating here a bit. Four chrome cards from 2018 and NONE are a base card. That's pretty special, and I couldn't leave any of them off the list so I grouped them together. For the record, the Willson Contreras card is a refractor.

#4

 More cheating. Sorry, not sorry. I have mini player collections of Glenn Beckert and Ken Holtzman, but the Ed Mayer card is special in it's own kind of Don Mossi way. Vintage trumps chrome, thus it comes in at #4.

#3

Here. We. Go. Fuji just went straight fire 🔥 right here. Eric Karros, at age 35, was a nice presence at first base who helped the 2003 Cubs make the playoffs in his only season. I've been a Karros fan ever since. This bat relic card is from the 2003 Topps Traded and Rookies Baseball set and couldn't have been very common. This is a very quality addition to my collection of relics!

#2

 I actually just saw this card for the first time the other day and it made my "Items to Chase" sticky note. Maybe Fuji had a notion it was a card I would be looking for at some point? Anyway, I like this card because Rizzo is the face of the franchise and he's a GOOD GUY. He leads, he plays hard, he has a sense of humor and understands there is more to life than baseball. He helped out after the Parkland shooting, he visits children's hospitals and he's constantly raising money to battle cancer. A card commemorating his 2017 Marvin Miller Man of the Year and Roberto Clemente Awards is something I needed in my collection. I have over 100+ Rizzo cards and this one is easily in the Top 5 of that player collection.

And here we go!  The big reveal at
#1

BOOM!! The countdown starts and finishes with a VOGELMONSTER! This one is from 2012, although it says 2011 on the front, and is numbered 10/99 and it's autographed! With the addition of Fuji, eleven different bloggers have now contributed a new card to my Vogelbach collection, which now stands at 333 unique cards.

Wow, I wasn't expecting quite the return on the cards I sent Fuji's way.  Thank you, kind sir!

Fuji. I'm adding you to my Hit List.  I've got a score to settle with you... You know, the cardboard kind. 😀

Area 40

Surely you saw this post over the weekend. Wes, also formerly known as JBF, is pursuing one last big hurrah.

Jon Lester looks worried about what Wes has planned.

Like many of you, I have received more than my fair share of cards from the man who hails from Hazel Green.

Holy cow! This card is thick!

While trying to keep up with return fire I actually found I had memorized Wes' shipping address. LOL.

Numbered parallels.

 Lately, I've been more than happy to sit on the sidelines, grab a bucket of popcorn, and watch Wes drown BWTP in cardboard, jerseys and even a hockey stick. Wes and Matt are two of the best ever!

More numbered parallels.

More recently though, blog posts have been showing up around the blogosphere spotlighting retirement packages from Wes.

Yep, more parallels with serial numbers on the back.

Wes is the only person I've ever known to send out gifts when retiring. Everyone else I've known has had a party thrown in their honor, maybe roasted & toasted, and given a few nice presents.

Mini Parallels with serial numbers; the Sandberg goes in the PC!

I think this speaks to Wes and the overwhelming generosity his name has become synonymous with. 'Tis better to give than receive.

Turk is numbered, too!

When I wrote this draft I had no idea what Area 40 was about, but I have since come to realize it will be epic and I hope he'll let me help a little along the way.

The Rizzo is from the retail NL All-Star set. 

Actually, I know there are few bloggers out their with a similar mindset. Maybe we can band together and send him out with a bang?

 If this truly the beginning of the end for Wes' card days, then I think I can hear mailmen all along the P-town/Hazel Green route rejoicing. 😂

Early 1990s Peoria Chiefs cards. Where does he find this stuff?

Wes, thank you for all the cards in this post and the past. You have single-handedly increased my Cubs collection 10-fold over the years and have blessed me with more of a following than I ever could have imagined by simply sending me cards to blog about. I'm not quite sure how to repay you, but I'll think of something. Actually, your new project is something I can definitely help with. I can't wait to hit a card show and see what I can come up with!  This should be fun!